wiredInUSA January 2018

Arctic cable

The first subsea cable in the US sector of the Arctic Ocean has gone live, with the entry into service of the northern Alaska section of Quintillion’s network. Quintillion plans to extend its cable west to Tokyo and east to London, but the first section links the Alaskan coastal communities of Utqiaġvik, Wainwright, Point Hope, Nome and Kotzebue. Interim CEO George Tronsrue said: “The Quintillion system makes it possible for local service providers to offer the same world class products and services [that have been] available [for some years] to consumers in the lower 48,” (the 48 states of the US between Canada and Mexico). Crews completed installation of the Alaska Arctic portion of the cable system in early October, and the company expects its customers to be live

soon, enabling high speed broadband capability to consumers and businesses in these communities. The system will deliver gigabit and higher bandwidth services on a 1,400-mile (2,250km) subsea and terrestrial fiber network, including a subsea trunk line from Prudhoe Bay to Nome with branching lines to the five communities. In addition to the subsea cable system, Quintillion has installed terrestrial fiber between Fairbanks, in the center of the state, and Prudhoe Bay on the north coast. Phase two of the project will extend the backbone cable from the Nome branching unit, west to Asia, terminating in Tokyo, with options for additional branches into Alaska. Phase three will run east from Prudhoe Bay through the Canadian Arctic.

wiredInUSA - January 2018

28